In general, a fender liner including nonwoven fabric made of a large number of interlocked short fibers is known as a fender liner (see PATENT DOCUMENT 1). In such a fender liner including nonwoven fabric, a large number of gaps formed among interlocked fibers absorb impact caused by a collision of foreign objects. Accordingly, the fender liner has impact resistance and a sound deadening property (especially a sound-absorption property). The fender liner, however, has poor sound insulation performance, and thus the sound deadening performance thereof is insufficient. In addition, since water attached to the fender liner enters the inside of the fender liner through osmosis, when the water is frozen, ice grows to reach the inside of the fender liner, resulting in difficulty in peeling off the ice.
Examples of known molded products include a molded product using a high density polyethylene (HDPE) resin or a molded product using a hard fiberboard in which hard styrene-butadiene rubber is mixed in polyester fiber, in order to protect a fender against a collision with stones or the like bounced off by the tires, a splash of muddy water or the like during driving on a puddle, and a collision, for example, (see PATENT DOCUMENT 2). A fender liner using the hard fiberboard is superior to that using nonwoven fabric in terms of the function of reducing deformation and damage, for example, of the fender liner caused by collision with stones or the like. However, the resin of the hard fiberboard does not have a sound-absorption property, and has poor sound insulation performance. Accordingly, engine noise and road noise are not sufficiently reduced. Further, molded products using the HDPE resin or hard fiberboards have poor sound deadening performance because an impact such as a collision with stones or the like, a splash of muddy water or the like, and a collision is changed into sound in a frequency range which is easily heard by a human.
Furthermore, a fender liner configured to improve water resistance and resistance to adhesion of foreign objects by covering, with a waterproof film, the surface of a sound-deadening cushioning material made of nonwoven fabric is known (see PATENT DOCUMENT 3).